High-rise fire victims family: 'There had been false alarms

Two of five people who died Sunday morning in a fire at a senior living high-rise in Castle Hills have been identified. City officials, meanwhile, acknowledged that the building did not have a sprinkler system in place.

According to the Bexar County Medical Examiner, Jose O. Gonzales, 73, and Karen Rae Betz, 74, died around 6 a.m. when a fire gutted at least one floor of the 11-story Wedgwood Senior Living apartments in the 6700 block of Blanco Road.

Gonzales who lived next door to apartment 302, where authorities believe the blaze started died from smoke inhalation and complications due to cardiovascular disease, according to the medical examiner. The cause and manner of death for Betz, who lived in apartment 701, has not yet been determined.

Karen Betz was a widow who moved from Iowa to San Antonio in 2009, according to her son and daughter, Michael and Michelle Betz.

She came down here because I'm retired military and I was living here, and she wanted to move to where it was warmer, Michelle Betz said. She would bake and cook and take things to her neighbors.

On Sunday morning, Karen Betz called her sister to say there was smoke in the hallways. The sister then called Michelle Betz.

There had been false alarms. Sometimes, there would be some smoke. She would report the guy down the hall because he'd be smoking. And so, you didn't know when the alarms went off. This was the real thing, Michelle Betz said, her voice trailing off.

The siblings said they await the results of the investigation and an autopsy, but added that she will be buried in Iowa and services will be there. Karen Betz's husband, Allan, worked at John Deere in Iowa for several years. He passed away a few years ago.

Authorities have not yet released the identities of the three others who were killed because they had been only tentatively identified and next of kin had not been notified.

Castle Hills Mayor Tim Howell described the fire as the worst catastrophe the city has experienced to his knowledge. In a tweet to his followers Sunday afternoon, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said he is praying for the victims of the fire and expressed thanks to first-responders.

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High-rise fire victims family: 'There had been false alarms